WALPOLE, N.H. – Experienced writer and editor Pam Bernard has been editing manuscripts and working one-on-one with writers for decades. Bernard’s expertise is focused first upon helping the writer find her voice – the authentic self who struggles to articulate the narrative of her life in memoir, or express in poetic form what it’s like be alive in this moment.
As well, Bernard is a valued educator and writing mentor/coach. Her popular memoir workshops, and also poetry workshops, begin new sessions in early February.
These stimulating series of writing and reading workshops are for those writers interested in transforming experience into a convincing and compelling story.
This workshop is not a competitive sport. Each member is encouraged to engage at his or her own pace and comfort level. Participants explore the genre to learn the ground rules of nonfiction, and experiment with different approaches to making the personal universal.
Vivian Gornick says, “Penetrating the familiar is by no means a given. On the contrary, it is hard, hard work.” Unlike any other modes of writing, memoir, and also poetry, demand a kind of honesty that cannot be faked or manufactured. Rather, a successful narrative or poem will rise from raw experience, but transcend that experience by virtue of, and in direct relation to, the writer’s willingness to honor her life.
The mediocre memoir is one in which the writer cannibalizes experience with the intent to sensationalize, or settles for mere recollection of past events. Because something happened does not make it worthy of inclusion.
Each writer owns her own memory. No one else can claim that. As William Zinsser says, “No one has a monopoly on the shared past.” It is what we do with those memories that inspires memoir. Striving for perfect recall encourages a writer to be a transcriber rather than a storyteller. Delight in the moment when memory becomes story.
Bernard is the author of four books, the most recent a verse novel titled “Esther.” She is also an editor, writing mentor, and coach. She received her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Warren Wilson College, and bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. Her awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and two fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Nimrod, Cimarron Review, Narrative, Sojourn, and Valparaiso are among the many literary journals that have published her work.
Preferred contact is via email at pambernardwriter@gmail.com. Visit www.pambernard.com for more information about all that Bernard offers, or call 603-756-4177.